?
There’s no official reprimand levelled at Lachlan, but the old man is unhappy to say the least.In the week following the incident, Alistair Penhalyx’s presence in the Estate is a heavy-handed punishment for everyone, but no one more than Clara Barnes.
Lachlan personally oversaw the intel-extraction of the man they kept alive.He presented the information to the old man directly.Alyssa Monroe’s real name was Larisa Belkin.
She had been working as Mimi’s childminder for almost a year.
It was Clara who hired and vetted her.
While cleanup and rebuilding takes place, Alistair has Lachlan demonstrate how he would have vetted Belkin.He physically watches Lachlan, monitors him while they’re in his office, shooting looks at Clara now and then who sits on a chair nearby, hands and feet tied.
It takes Lachlan less than ten minutes to find a flag in Belkin’s legend.‘This here,’ he explains, pointing to the screen.
‘And you’d have seen this even if you weren’t looking for it?’
‘You have to rotate background checks to monitor for changes or discrepancies,’ Lachlan simply says.‘You can’t just do it once.’
Alistair nods slowly.‘You will be in charge of vetting staff going forward, new and old.Your pay scale will reflect this additional responsibility.Let me know what you need.’Clara is trying to say something through the gag.She’s shaking her head and crying.Alistair directs his attention to her, all three of them inside the vast office where Lachlan signed that fucking contract.‘You have failed me greatly, Clara,’ he says, tone silky.‘I’mverydisappointed.’Then he looks at Lachlan, who already knows exactly what he’s going to be asked to carry out.‘Dispose of her for me, Lachlan, please.’
Clara is screaming but it’s muffled by the gag.
Lachlan has already run the possibility of this through his head and weighed outcomes.All are bad, all lead to bad places.
But there is a lesser evil, and that’s the path he must walk.
So he takes the gun that Alistair offers and gives a sharp nod, prepared to do what he must, noting that the weight of the handgun is slightly off.He doesn’t hesitate either way, strides over to her, aims the gun at her temple, dead centre and he pulls the trigger three times in rapid succession.
Bang,but no blowout.
He was right, they were blanks.
He would have carried it out anyway.Lachlan is a professional.
And he can’t take the risk of someone else replacing him.
Hyperventilating under her gag, Clara seems almost entirely broken by primal fear.Lachlan cocks his head at the gun just as he would if he hadn’t noticed the weight.He looks to Alistair who is watching him with glassy satisfaction.
‘Excellent.’He takes the gun back when Lachlan offers it, pulls out the magazine and shows it to Lachlan.‘Your loyalty to my family is commendable, Lachlan.’The old man then snaps a fresh magazine into the handgun, aims it at Clara’s chest and fires a single bullet, right in the middle.
It’s a bad death because it misses her heart.
Lachlan gives nothing away, no reaction.
‘Why don’t you show me some of the ground upgrades?’Alistair suggests pleasantly, leaving the gun on his desk.
Lachlan falls into line.‘Yes, sir.’
Outside, Alistair studies with interest the roof of the East Wing, cleanup still underway.‘The Moroz Front have made attempts in the past, but this was one of the most sophisticated,’ he observes.‘You did well to keep my son safe, but I’m sure you noticed weaknesses.’
‘I did, sir.’
‘Those weaknesses will be reinforced.’
‘They will, sir.’
‘Good.’The old man sighs.Daylight shows all his lines and imperfections.‘I will begin fielding replacements for Clara.In the meantime, can you suggest an interim?’
Lachlan bites back his immediate urge to recommend Carrigan, who has no experience being head of household in this capacity.Instead he says, ‘I might suggest Blaire Montbelliard, sir.’
